Emtac B/t permanently live and in sun?

APK1

I have an Emtac and have wired a feed in the car, which is ignition controlled, 2 questions :

1/ Can I leave the emtac switched on permanently, recharging with the ignition ?

2/ I have positioned it in the bottom corner of my windscreen, what effect would heat have on it, should I place in shade when not in use ?

Tony

Dave

1. Emtac I believe do suggest you don't leave it on constantly. I think it's mainly because most batteries prefer a full charge and then decharge, constant re-charging could cause a memory effect (although I can never remember if it's Lithium-ION that has the memory effect or not), I think they don't have so much of an effect. Try it and see, I'm not sure how it will affect battery life, in theory if it's constantly charging and the battery did go, then it would still get power.

2. Technically it's recommended that they're not left in direct heat or sunlight for long exposed periods of time. I think this is mainly due to the Lithium batteries inside (batteries usually discharge/deteriate) when left in this condition. Now GPS Receivers (Mouse Type) like Leadtek wouldn't require a battery, they take power source direct from the accessory socket, and can be left for long periods of time in direct sunlight. The other thing about the Emtac/Socket and other small Bluetooth Receivers is that they have thin plastic, which means heat will get through quicker. Now whether heat/sunlight adversely affects the charge I'm not sure.

hollis_f

1. A Li-ion battery shouldn't suffer from memory effects. So it should be Ok to leave it powered all the time.

2. Probably not a good idea to leave it in the sun - could degrade the plastic. I would suggest putting it inside something that would shield it from the sun. I've often left mine on the dash inside a ciggy packet - to avoid tempting any thieving oiks that may pass by.

aero

APK1 is suggesting the receiver is left on all the time - therefore the battery discharges overnight (for example), then when the ignition is switched on in the morning it starts to charge again.

I can't imagine this will damage the unit but I guess the battery will have a certain number of discharge/recharge cycles before it packs up.

Can new batteries be purchased for the Emtac?

Dave

These batteries only have a lifespan of around 400 charges. A little over a year if it's on a daily charge cycle.

I suspect that batteries probably won't be replacable. In a years time they would probably have gone through two or three products, and knowing what the tech market is probably like, they'll be expecting people to have changed to the latest model that gives 4 times as much battery use.

hollis_f

It depends on the car. My new motor supplies power to the ciggy socket permanently. So that would keep the batteries topped up - which is, apparently, the best way to treat them.

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